Pontile

This article contains information about a typical Venetian pontile.

For a list of pontili, see Pontili.

A pontile (pl. pontili) is a wooden dock that extends into a canal with steps at the end. Since a pontile projects into the canal, they are mainly found in wider Venetian canals such as the Grand Canal. That results in fewer pontili in Venice than compared to fondamenta and riva. One thing to be aware of is that since pontili are made of wood, frequent maintenance is required to replaced rotted boards on these docks.

An example of a pontile.

Condition Ratings

When data was taken about each dock, their condition was noted using the scale below.

3 - Good

2 - Average

1 - Poor

0 - Very Poor

Usability Ratings

Another piece of data that was taken about each dock was their usability. Their usability was noted using the scale below.

0 - Difficult to use for structural reasons

1 - Difficult to use with high tide

2 - Difficult to use with low tide

3 - Unusable due to the lack of poles, hooks, or rings

4 - Inaccessible by water

5 - Difficult to utilize

6 - Usable

7 - Inaccessible by land

8 - Inaccessible by land freight wagon

99 - None

See Also

• Pontili
• Dock
• Docks

References

Bibliography

• Bennett, Alexander; Hastings, Samuel; Petry, Stephen; Solomon, Alexander. Boats are Waking Me Crazy: An Analysis of Boat Traffic and Moto Ondoso in the City of Venice. Worcester MA. Worcester Polytechnic Institute.2013